Species VS Species
by CSakuraS
Summary: A war is brewing between the wild Pokemon and the humans, for what reason, no one knows. But one Pokemon begins to realize that this war isn't as simple as it seems... *Sorry, but I'm not going to continue this story anymore.*
1. A New Leader

Species VS Species  
  
(Note: For the Pokemon's speech, I shall be using ~ rather than quotation marks. For human ears, anything said within these will just sound like Pokemon cries. For example, if a Marill says ~I am a Pokemon, hear me roar!~ we might hear it as "Marillarill, marmar mararill!")  
  
Chapter 1- A New Leader  
  
~Rollout!~ I curled into a ball and hurled myself at a human, hitting him right in the stomach.  
  
~Watch out, Sent!~ Mar cried from the bushes.  
  
I screamed as one of the human's bullets hit me. The pain was incredible! I struggled for a minute, then slumped down. The human was ready to finish me off.  
  
~I got you!~ Ledy hauled my up off the ground. The human then tried shooting at her.  
  
~I don't think so!~ Farf yelled, and swiped his leek at the human's gun, slicing it in half. ~Sand Attack!~ Farf then flapped blinding sand at the human's eyes while we escaped.  
  
Ledy laid me next to Mar in the bushes. She had been hurt too. An Abra nearby was tending to her wounds.  
  
~Hey you!~ Ledy yelled at another Abra sleeping nearby. ~If you're not going to fight, at least help by healing this Sentret here!~  
  
The Abra rushed over. He immediately began using his Recover powers on me.  
  
Ledy was an unusual Ledyba. Her kind were usually very timid, but Ledy instead was very tough and sarcastic. Unlike the rest of her family, she enjoyed taking part in battles. She was easily the strongest of my friends, and at times like these, strong Pokemon came in handy.  
  
A minute later, Farf came to join us. Clever and loyal, this Farfetch'd could have been a great leader for his flock, if it weren't for the fact that he couldn't fly. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with his wing. ~Those humans are tough! I never imagined them to be so hard to beat!~  
  
~You're right.~ Mar winced, and continued. ~I know that I'm the weakest, but I never thought I would be wounded in the first two minutes of battle!~ Mar was indeed the weakest of our number and the youngest too. She depended heavily on others' support, with her innocence and sincerity always getting her in trouble. However, the pretty Mareep cared deeply for everyone she knew, even if they weren't the same species.  
  
We all sighed.  
  
~Now ain't that the saddest thing I ever saw.~  
  
A Croconaw wearing a cowboy hat was lounging nearby.  
  
~Who are you?~ we asked.  
  
~Yew can call me Gen'ral Croco.~  
  
~General Croco?~  
  
~No! Gen'ral Croco; it ain't right without the accent.~  
  
~Um, okay...~ said Ledy.  
  
~Call me sir!~  
  
~But you just told us to- ~  
  
~Quiet!~ Gen'ral Croco ordered. ~Now, what yew little pokymon need is a leader.~  
  
Farf raised his leek. ~He's right! I elect Sent!~  
  
~No, no! I mean me! See this hat?~ he pointed at the cowboy hat on his head. ~This used to belong to me Trainer.~  
  
Mar gulped. ~What-what happened to him?~  
  
~Yew don't want to know!~ he sneered.  
  
Suddenly all the wild Pokemon came running back. ~What happened? Why are you running away?~ Ledy asked.  
  
~They're just too strong for us! We can't possibly win against them! They have all that technology! And the Trained Ones are on their side!~ an Ekans answered. The Trained Ones were the human's Pokemon; the non-wild.  
  
Gen'ral Croco laughed heartily. ~O'course yew can't win against them! Look at yew! Lil' pokymon newbies, don't know nothin' 'bout battle! All just first stage pokymon! Let me tell yew, the only reason the Trained Ones get to be so big and strong is because they have to fight in order to become the way they are!~  
  
~So what's your point?~ asked Ledy.  
  
~I've had experience! I know all 'bout humans! With me, yew'll never lose!~  
  
Farf raised his leek again. ~Hey everybody! I say it would be better if Gen'ral Croco was our leader! What do you say?~  
  
There was a roar of approval. Gen'ral Croco grinned.  
  
That was how it started.  
  
If it weren't for Gen'ral Croco, we would have probably all given up and forgotten about the war. That horrible, ugly war.  
  
I can still remember the days before it began. It seems like a different world now. Mar, Farf, Ledy and I were all outcasts, so we banded together and became our own family. Best friends for eternity, or so we thought.  
  
No one even knew who first came up with the idea. One day the wild Pokemon and humans just started fighting each other, so we decided to join in.  
  
We made a promise. To always be friends and help each other no matter what! Then we rubbed our heads together to seal it off.  
  
But before we knew it, the battle had turned into a war. Pokemon I knew began growing farther apart. Everything changed.  
  
Gen'ral Croco turned out to be very strict. He worked hard to make us more disciplined. We trained daily in a big field from early in the morning to late at night. But the work seemed to be paying off, at least. Everyday we felt stronger and stronger. Even Mar learned several new attacks. The trouble was that none of us were powerful enough to evolve. Until one day...  
  
~What did yew say!?~ he screamed at an Oddish.  
  
~Nothing, sir!~ she cowered. ~I'm sorry!~  
  
~Apologizin' won't help you any! I never forgive any youngster talkin' 'bout me behind me back! Drop and give me fifty!~  
  
~But-but I don't have any arms, sir!~  
  
~Then go run fifty laps! Now!~  
  
We watched the poor Oddish tire herself out.  
  
~Poor thing,~ Mar, who was standing next to me, whispered.  
  
~I don't think we should talk, or we might end up like that Oddish.~ I whispered back.  
  
Suddenly, a strange glow erupted from the Caterpie on the other side of me. Astounded, we gazed at his new form.  
  
~Well what d'yew know!~ Gen'ral Croco exclaimed. ~He's evolved into a Metopod!~  
  
~Oooooh!~ we all marveled.  
  
That was the first evolution. Soon more and more of us began to evolve. It was proof that we were finally ready to battle. Then finally, it came. After all our training, it was time to fight the humans. It was supposed to be a surprise attack, but the humans were expecting something like this and were prepared. They had built huge walls around their city, and many of them crowded around, leering at us.  
  
~Well, we can Leer too!~ Gen'ral Croco snapped.  
  
Any of the Pokemon who knew Leer or Scary Face glared back at them. In reply, they shot at us with those things they call "machine guns."  
  
~Defense!~ Many Pokemon with hard shells like Squirtle lined up in front of us. The bullets bounced off harmlessly with sharp PINGs!  
  
~Set off the bombarade!~ Gen'ral Croco announced.  
  
That was my cue. I jumped onto a catapult along with twenty other Pokemon. On the catapults were many Pineco and Voltorb. Once over the city, they used their Explosion attacks to shower the city with smoke and ash.  
  
We cheered. Then suddenly, we heard a loud sound from overhead. Planes!  
  
~Retreat! Retreat! Hurry up, 'less you wanna be blown up!~ We ran away just as the humans started dropping their own bombs.  
  
Later that night, we held a meeting under a big tree.  
  
~Lissen yew youngsters!~ raged Gen'ral Croco. ~We ain't no match for them humans even if we all were fully evolved! They have the technology. That's the only reason them humans are winnin'. Now, I've been thinkin' that if we had some 'o that there technology, we'll probably be winnin' the war by now!~ He looked around at everyone. ~So, any o' yew have any brite ideas 'bout it?~  
  
We all had blank faces.  
  
~Slowww...huh? What did you say?~ a Slowpoke wondered.  
  
Gen'ral Croco sighed, closed his eyes and shook his head in exasperation.  
  
Then Farf raised his leek. Croco looked at him with one eye. ~What?~  
  
~Well, I was thinking that maybe we could sneak in and, you know, look at all the human's stuff. Then maybe we can get an idea.~  
  
Gen'ral Croco opened both eyes and stared at Farf in amazement.  
  
~What d'yew know! Ain't that the smartest thing I heard any o' yew say!~  
  
Farf looked pleased.  
  
~Good idea! We'll do that then! Tomorrow, we'll launch another attack. While we're fightin', some of us will sneak into their city. The humans'll be too busy to notice us steal all their secrets!~  
  
We all cheered at this brilliant plan and Farf smiled proudly.  
  
The meeting was soon over so we all went to different spots to get some sleep. Mar, Ledy, Farf and I headed to our favorite spot near the lake, discussing the day's events.  
  
~Hey yew! Wait'up!~  
  
We turned in surprise to see Gen'ral Croco running up to us. Gasping for breath, he grabbed Farf's wing and shook it hard.  
  
~Good job! Yew got some real brains there!~  
  
~Ow! My wing!~  
  
~I can use a soldier like yew!~  
  
~Please, sir, you're crippling my wing!~  
  
~We can make a captain out o' yew yet!~  
  
~Let go of my wing!!!~  
  
Gen'ral Croco let go.  
  
~Cap- captain!?~ we all gasped.  
  
~That's right! I've been searchin' for one, and this here young'un looks promisin'!~ He slapped him on the back, and Farf fell over.  
  
~What's your name? Speak up, son!~  
  
Farf shakily got up from the ground. ~F- f- f- Fargh- ff...~  
  
~F- f- f-Fargh- ff, eh? Strange name, but that don't matter! You'll be my new second-in-command startin' tomorrow!~ Gen'ral Croco walked away, laughing.  
  
Farf made a small squeek, then collapsed back onto the ground. 


	2. The Mission

1 Chapter 2- The Mission  
  
I was going to be one of the spies. It was mainly Farf's fault, since he picked us out.  
  
~But I want to be in the fight!~ I argued.  
  
~Sorry, Sent. But to me you look like one of the best for a mission like this, with your expertise and all.~  
  
What he meant by my 'expertise' was that, before I was made an outcast, I had gotten to look through my father's books. You see, my old Sentret clan was famous for their hording skills. They not only stole nuts and berries from other clans, but carried off any item made by humans that they could find. My father was the leader of the clan, and he liked to keep a small library of human books in a secret tunnel underground. My brother and I often came down to look at them. Of course, we couldn't read any of the words, but looking at the pictures helped us get a minimal amount of knowledge of the human world. Later, after my father died, my brother and I had to fight tooth and claw for leadership of the clan. He won, and as a result, I became an outcast, never to return. But that's another story.  
  
~Farf, I don't want to miss out on all the action!~  
  
He tapped me on the head with his leek. ~Just because we're friends doesn't mean I can cheat on my responsabilities, Sent.~  
  
Gen'ral Croco called from near the tree, and Farf dashed over.  
  
~Yessir, Gen'ral Croco! Is there anything you need?~  
  
~Paw licker.~ I mumbled.  
  
~Don't worry, Sent.~ said Mar, trying to comfort me. She was also going on the spy mission. ~I'm sure Farf is doing this for the best.~  
  
I hoped so.  
  
It was the night of the second battle. The Pokemon ran onto the battlefield using their most destructive attacks. The humans were putting up a good fight, but our hard training came through when our main fighters managed to push them back into the fortress. Then the Trained Ones came out.  
  
We watched from behind from the bushes, waiting for the signal. There were fourteen of us all together, but if everything went according to plan, only seven would be entering the city.  
  
~Swords Dance!~ Farf waved his leek in a circle, then threw it up into the air.  
  
~Thats it! Lets go!~ I yelled.  
  
And so began one of the most dangerous parts of the mission. A Koffing floated above, using Smokescreen to hide us from the humans' view. A Hoothoot used Foresight through the smoke to navigate us in the right direction. We soon reached the walls without detection. Then two Bellsprout used their Vinewhips up the walls so we could climb. So far so good.  
  
BAMBAMBAMBAMBAM!!  
  
Apparently, some humans found the smoke suspicious, and began shooting at us! Mar screamed as a bullet just barely grazed her fleece.  
  
~Keep goin'!~ Gen'ral Croco ordered from the battlefield.  
  
Once we made it over the walls and onto the battlements, some humans ran up and pointed guns at us.  
  
~Stun Spore!~ Three Paras quickly paralyzed them. They continued making a scene while we jumped to the ground and slipped into the shadows. Now there was only me, Mar, a Charmander, Squirtle, Phanphy, Ekans, and Hoppip in the group.  
  
The next step was to find a place with any human technology. We had the Ekans have a look in the nearest building to make sure it was deserted, then sneaked into it one at a time. The house was so new to us, it was difficult to know where to begin.  
  
~Hey! Look here!~ The Phanphy, named Phanpho, pointed to a room with his tiny trunk.  
  
~Ooooh!~ we gasped. The place was covered in technology! We rushed in at once to see all the interesting machines there were. The Ekans, Sneak, stayed in the doorway as a lookout.  
  
~Sent, where are we?~ Mar asked me in awe.  
  
~I think it's the place where the humans cook their food.~  
  
~Hey, what's this?~ The Charmander, Charad, scrambled onto a counter and pointed at a box-like thing. He pushed a button. ~Waaaah!~ A door swung open with a CHING!, nearly knocking Charad off the counter.  
  
~Looks like one of those healing areas the humans made for Trained Ones.~ said the Hoppip, Hoppin. ~I'm a little tired myself.~ She squeezed herself into the tiny space. Charad closed the door and pushed a few more buttons.  
  
~Woa!~ The inside of the box lit up, and we could see Hoppin spinning around slowly inside. ~This is fun! You should try this- hey, wait a minute. It's starting to get a little warm in here. I'm getting hot… Ouch! Hot! Hot! Heeeeeellp!!~  
  
Charad frantically pushed buttons.  
  
~Hot! Hot! Help me! I'm on fire!!~  
  
Finally, the right button was pushed, and Hoppin zoomed out screaming. ~Heeeeeeellp!!~ She flew out of control, and stopped only when she hit a metal lever on the other side of the room. Hoppin then fell into a small trench below the lever.  
  
~Aaah, that's better.~  
  
Water began flowing out of a pipe connected to the lever, splashing down onto the Hoppip.  
  
~Hmm, a heating machine, and a device that makes water.~ we observed.  
  
~Makes me wonder why humans even need Pokemon.~ said Charad.  
  
~Thats right!~ declared the Squirtle, Squirm. ~And look! They even have their own shells!~ He showed us some white disks. He dropped one, and it shattered into many sharp pieces. ~Tsk tsk, these humans know nothing about protection.~ Squirm commented.  
  
"What was that?" A loud voice echoed down the hallway. "I thought I heard a noise!"  
  
"It was from the kitchen! Let's go check it out!"  
  
~Humans! Let's get out of here!~ Sneak cried.  
  
We panicked and ran about in circles. Somehow, we managed to all squeeze behind the door just before the humans arrived. Surprisingly, there were only two: an adult female, a young male, and an even younger male.  
  
"Look at this mess!" the female human gasped.  
  
"Some of those wild Pokemon must have snuck in! We have to get rid of them before they do any more damage!" the male said.  
  
"Why can't we just catch them?" the young male asked the other.  
  
"They wouldn't listen to us. It would be too dangerous!"  
  
~Sent, help!~ Mar whispered.  
  
I looked over at her. Her fluffy wool was showing from behind the door.  
  
~Hey guys, scoot over!~ I told the others.  
  
~We can't! Theres not enough space!~  
  
~Yes you can!~  
  
~We're already squished back here! You move over!~  
  
~No, you!~  
  
"Whats that noise?"  
  
We gulped.  
  
"I thought I heard something. You two, see if your Pokemon can help us out."  
  
The two male humans held up a Pokeball each and pushed the button. A female Growlithe and a male Marill appeared.  
  
~Trained ones!~ Sneak hissed.  
  
"Mario, can you hear anything?"  
  
The Marill, Mario, wiggled its ears.  
  
The Growlithe began sniffing around. It would only be a matter of time before they found us. I looked at the others, and they nodded.  
  
~Run!~  
  
We dashed out from behind the door and ran as fast as we can!  
  
"There they are! After them!"  
  
We made it out of the house and headed for the wall, where the three Bellsprout were sure to be waiting. Phanpho was the first to make it and blew a long, loud call from his trunk.  
  
~Help!~  
  
I looked back. Squirm, the slowest of our team, was lagging behind  
  
~I'll keep them busy! Keep going!~ I yelled to them. I stopped and faced the  
  
humans, but they did not notice me. The older male and female, along with the Growlithe and Marill, dashed past after the others, trampling my tail as they went. The pain made me lose my concentration and I didn't see the danger until it was too late.  
  
"Woah!" I turned to see the young male trip. I tried to get away, but it was too late. The human wobbled, and fell on top of me.  
  
The weight of his body squashed me against the ground. I couldn't breath. I could only struggle until, finally, he got off.  
  
For a moment I got a clear view of a few of my friends scattering around. The Bellsprout were pulling their vines back up with only Sneak, Charad and Mar clinging onto them. The Growlithe blew flames at them and Charad fought back with an Ember of his own. Then my view was blocked again as the human kneeled over. Panting, he stared at me with wide eyes. I could only stare back, not yet recovered from being flattened.  
  
"Jordan! What's wrong?" the female human ran up.  
  
Quickly, Jordan stood up, hiding me from view.  
  
"Oh, um, nothing Mom." he said innocently, putting his hands behind his back.  
  
"Are you hurt?"  
  
"Well, maybe a little."  
  
Then I noticed something in his hands. Something round with red and white colors. A Pokeball!  
  
"You should come back inside. Joseph will get the rest of them, don't worry."  
  
I watched carefully what he was doing with the Pokeball. Slowly, so the other human wouldn't notice, he held it up over me.  
  
No! my mind screamed.  
  
The ball dropped down, and hit me. In a flash of light, I was inside.  
  
~No! No!~ I tried as hard as I could to get out, but the walls kept pushing back onto me. The little strength I had left me, and before I could realize it, I had slipped into a deep sleep.  
  
  
  
2  
  
3  
  
4 


	3. The First Confrontation

1 Chapter 3- The First Confrontation  
  
I slowly opened my eyes. Everything was blurry, and there was a bright light.  
  
"It's starting to wake up!"  
  
~Finally!~  
  
~Huh? Where am I? ~Aaaaaagh!~  
  
"Aaaaaaaaagh!"  
  
~Aaaaaaaagh!~  
  
The human! The spy mission! Trained Ones! Everything came back to me in a flash. ~Tackle!~ I hit the young human in the stomach and ran around trying to find a way out.  
  
"Mario! Hurry! Close the door!"  
  
The Trained Marill, shut the single door in the room.  
  
~Get out of the way, Trained One!~ I growled.  
  
~Look who's talking! You're a 'Trained One' too! Now calm down before you hurt yourself!~ Mario shot back.  
  
~I don't care! I'm running away! I have to get back to my friends!~  
  
"Jordan? Is everything alright honey?" The female human's voice could be heard from outside the room.  
  
"Uh, just fine Mom!"  
  
"Are you sure?" the human's mother asked. "I thought I heard some noises in there. I should send your brother to watch over you for a while. I hear some of those wild Pokemon could still be about."  
  
"No, really, I'm okay." said the boy, looking at me nervously. "You don't have to send Joseph, I'm fine."  
  
I held my breath as the doornob turned. "Well, at least let me get some more  
  
bandages just in case anyone else gets hurt."  
  
Then I noticed where we were. It was a small, windowless room with a bed in the corner. The Marill and I were on a counter along with jars of what looked like abnormally-shaped seeds of different colors.  
  
"W-wait! I'll get them!" The human rushed to a cabinet and took out rolls of white cloth. He passed them to his mother from under the door.  
  
"Thank you, Jordan, but I could have got them myself, you know. Are you hiding something?"  
  
The human began dripping water from his forehead. "N-no, I'm just in the middle of changing into clean clothes and I-I didn't want you to see..."  
  
"For heavens sake, Jordan, I'm your mother! Ah well, it was the same with Joseph when he was your age."  
  
We heard her walk away. As the footsteps got fainter, the Marill suddenly jumped on me.  
  
~Ow! Hey, no fair, I wasn't paying attention!~ I squeeled as he pinned me to the countertop. ~Dirty, cheating Trained One!~  
  
~I'm just trying to keep you still before you get my Trainer in trouble!~ The Marill stammered.  
  
"It's okay, Mario, you can let him go." said the human.  
  
The Marill looked at him, nodded, then got off of me. For a moment I considered what to do, then sat up.  
  
~You may have captured me, but I'm not going to be your slave!~ I yelled, pointing at the human.  
  
He blinked and shrugged his shoulders. Of course. Us Pokemon could understand humans, but the humans couldn't understand us. And they think they're smarter than us!  
  
"Mario, could you please get the Pokemike for me?" the human asked calmly, opening the door a crack.  
  
~No problem!~ answered the Marill, and slipped out.  
  
I looked at the small opening. This was my chance. My only chance. The human sat on a chair and looked at me curiously, not even bothering to stop me. Was this a trick? I stood up, took a step forward, then stopped. There was no way he would let me get away so easily. It had to be a trap. I sat back down and glared at the human, and went over what he had just asked.  
  
Well, at least he said 'Please.' But still, it's not like the Marill had a choice. Such is slavery. I couldn't see how those Trained Ones could put up with it. And what in the world was a Pokemike? Some kind of torture device, no doubt. With all their technology, it was sure to be really painful.  
  
After a while, the Marill was back. I noticed for the first time a little ring on his ear. He handed the human something. I watched, disgusted, as the human lovingly patted him on the head, even going so far as to scratch behind the ears! And worse, the Marill seemed to be enjoying it!  
  
Eventually, they stopped their disturbing display and the Marill settled down on the human's lap. He turned back to me, twisted a knob on the device, then pointed it at me.  
  
I stared at it. Now what?  
  
~Talk into it, genius.~ said the Marill.  
  
"Why should I?" I shouted. "You can't tell me what to-" I stopped and put my paws to my mouth. Did I- did I just-  
  
The human laughed. "Don't be afraid, little guy. I just want to talk to you."  
  
Little guy!? Forgetting my shock, I shouted into the device, "I won't be so little once I evolve! Then you'll be sorry! And I wouldn't talk to you even if you were the only other living being in the world!"  
  
"Well, you're talking to me now, aren't you?"  
  
"No, I...well...Well I'm not talking to you anymore!" I frowned and sat back, determined not to be fooled by him anymore.  
  
The human watched me, amused. We just sat there for a few minutes, none of us making a sound. I looked around the room, inspected my fur, anything just to keep me from looking at the human and his hideous device. But soon my eyes strayed to the Marill, now asleep in the human's lap. Funny, he looked almost happy...  
  
I took a quick peek at the human's face. He looked back at me. He was clearly just as stubborn as I was. This was going nowhere.  
  
"Alright, alright, I'll talk. But I'm not going to tell you anything about my friends!"  
  
"Of course." said the boy.  
  
So we talked. Nothing much at first, just about how wet rain was and why the grass was green. Stupid things like that. Then he asked me where I lived. Well, not directly, he just said "So is the grass where you live as green as it is over here?" but I'm sure that that's what he really meant.  
  
I didn't answer, and he quickly changed the subject.  
  
Soon, like right in the middle of our conversation about the different kinds of red fruit, I couldn't take it anymore. I blurted out, "Why are you keeping me here?"  
  
"Because if I kept you anywhere else, people would get suspicious. Right now I'm supposed to be resting in the infirmary and no one is to disturb me unless it's urgent."  
  
"Yeah, but why don't you want anyone else to see me? Aren't you going to force me to tell you where my friends are hiding so you can ambush them?"  
  
The human chuckled. "I don't want anyone else to see you because I just want to talk to you for a while. Then I was planning on letting you go. I've never seen a wild Pokemon before."  
  
"You haven't?" I asked, cocking my head. "But you're a Pokemon Trainer, right? Don't you go around catching wild Pokemon to make as your slaves? Like that Marill there?"  
  
The human shook his head. "Not anymore. Not after this ridiculous war began, anyway. These days it's too dangerous for Pokemon Trainers to go out into the wild. I became a Trainer just a few weeks ago. As for Mario here, he was born in captivity and became my first, and only, Pokemon."  
  
"Oh." Well, I guess I can't really blame him for anything there. "But still, it's your fault we're having this stupid war! If you humans hadn't started it-"  
  
"We started it? What do you mean? As far as we know, you wild Pokemon just started attacking us one day. We have no reason to fight with you besides protecting ourselves."  
  
We looked at each other for a moment. For the first time, we were both thinking the same thing.  
  
"Then who started the war?" 


	4. Two Points of View

1 Chapter 4- Two Points of View  
  
After that we didn't talk much.  
  
The human took me to his room in the Pokeball while he ate dinner with his family. Luckily, Mario stayed to keep me company.  
  
We were sitting on the floor grooming ourselves when a thought suddenly occured to me.  
  
~What's it like, being a Trained One?~ I asked.  
  
~What do you mean, what's it like?~  
  
~Well, what do you do everyday? You don't have to answer me if you don't want to talk about it.~ Was I going soft?  
  
Mario thought for a moment, rocking back and forth on his tail as he did. I also rocked on my tail, which was larger than Mario's, to show him how it should be done.  
  
At last he smiled and replied, ~I have no shame. It's not like what you think. The humans don't treat me like a slave, or as a pet even. To them I'm more like, well, family I guess.~  
  
~Family!? How could you be family, you don't look anything like them!~  
  
~Well, it's hard to explain,~ Mario frowned. ~You know, I don't think I'm the one you should be asking, seeing how I've been with humans my whole life.~  
  
~Yes, but perhaps I can be of some service.~  
  
We both jumped. Out of nowhere appeared an Alakazam, who was now casually polishing his spoons on the human's bedspread..  
  
~Where did you come from!?~ I gasped.  
  
~Telaported,~ he said. ~I was listening to your conversation in my mind and decided to join in.~  
  
~This is Houdini, Jordan's brother's Pokemon,~ Mario explained. ~When Joseph was just beginning as a Trainer, he caught an Abra in the forest. Houdini was that Abra.~  
  
I couldn't help but stare at the powerful Psychic Pokemon. To me, he was a giant, though really he was about the height of a full grown human. I suddenly realized that if all the Trained Ones were this strong, the wild Pokemon wouldn't stand a chance.  
  
Houdini looked me in the eyes. I felt a jolt in my brain as everything I could remember flashed before me: my home in the forest; my friends; our battle against the humans; the coming of Gen'ral Croco; everything up to when Jordan captured me. Then it stopped. I rubbed my head, feeling drained.  
  
The Alakazam closed his eyes thoughtfully, then opened them and said, ~Well, you have questions, don't you? Ask away!~  
  
It puzzled me why he would say that, since he already seemed to know what I was going to ask. But I did anyway. ~You were born in the wild, weren't you? Well you must be stronger than all the humans and their technology combined. So why don't you leave? Did the humans threaten you? Are they that bad?~  
  
Houdini didn't take much time to answer. ~The humans aren't stupid. They know that I have the will to leave, not to mention the power. And they know that they can't stop me even if I wanted to. But I don't want to. You see, when I was an Abra, the reason I stayed with Joseph was out of respect. He was able to defeat me, and I respected him enough for that to be trained by him. I also wanted to become more powerful and knew he would be able to help me.~  
  
~But now that you're so strong, why are you still here?~  
  
~Because now we're more than just partners, much more. We're friends, and nothing could take that away from us. After all Joseph and I have been through, I wouldn't dream of going back to the wild. And I know that in his heart, and mind, Joseph feels the same way.~  
  
We sat in silence for a while. Houdini closed his eyes and began to meditate. Mario rocked on his tail again with a dreamy expression. I stayed still and went over all the things Houdini had told me.  
  
Friends? How could a human and a Pokemon be friends? Impossible! Unbelievable! But deep down inside me, there was doubt. Almost as if I wanted to believe it...  
  
The door opened and the human, Jordan, came in with a tray full of food. Mario's ears perked up and he danced around the human's legs as if he'd gone mad.  
  
"Sorry I was so late," the human laughed. "When I told mom that you were eating up here, she loaded all kinds of stuff on here. You know what, Mario? I think she spoils you too much."  
  
Mario didn't seem to argue.  
  
The human closed the door and set the tray on the floor. Immediately, Mario dived in. Trying to dodge all the flying food, the human turned to me. "Are you hungry? There's enough here to feed a Snorlax!"  
  
Normally, I wouldn't take human food, but since I hadn't eaten in what felt like a week, I couldn't resist. The first thing I tried was silvery and shaped like a rectangle. I didn't like it. But Jordan peeled away the silvery stuff, which turned out to be paper, and the brown inside was just delicious. Never in all my days in the wild had I eaten something so good and sweet and- and...there was just no word to describe it! Well, maybe there was. Jordan called it "chocolate."  
  
It was such a wonderful sensation, I just had to share it with someone! ~Hey Houdini, do you want a- ~ but Houdini was gone.  
  
The rest of the food was also pretty good, for human food anyway. Jordan didn't join in; he was sitting in a chair gazing at something on his desk.  
  
I went over and climbed onto the desktop. After tugging his shirt to get his attention, I pointed to my mouth until he brought out the weird device called the "Pokemike."  
  
"I need to ask you something," I said gently, for the human wasn't looking as cheerful as he was a moment ago. I was going soft! "Why do you humans capture Pokemon anyway? I understand now that you don't plan on making us slaves, but that makes me even more confused. If not for slavery, then for what reason?"  
  
"I'm not too sure," Jordan answered. His voice didn't have the carefree quality that he used when talking to Mario. Something was obviously on his mind. "Ever since people began building civilizations, they've had Pokemon to help. When the Pokeball was invented, it was easier to catch Pokemon and soon nearly everyone was doing it."  
  
Jordan took a deep breath. "I don't know about how it was started, but these days, it's become a custom. We catch Pokemon, breed them, battle them against each other, and even trade them as if they were nothing more than trading cards. Some times I can understand why you hate us so. But eventually it just comes down to the will of the Pokemon. If they want to stay, they'll stay. If they want to go, no matter how much we try, we can't stop them."  
  
This was so similar to what Houdini had said that for a moment I thought I was dreaming. No, this was real. And it was true.  
  
"Well, there are some humans who have the wrong idea about Pokemon and think they can do whatever they want with them, and in those cases, the Pokemon deserve to leave. Everyone is different, though. It's all about stereotypes. I'm sure there are Pokemon who get the wrong idea about humans too, right?"  
  
I nodded. Of course. I was one of them. Was...  
  
The sound of munching ceased. Mario finished eating and quickly fell asleep where he lay.  
  
Then I noticed what Jordan was looking at on the desk. It was a picture of an adult human wearing an old hat and jacket. Something was familiar about him...  
  
"That's my father, Jonathan Grissum. He was a Pokemon Researcher, but he still wore that hat and jacket every day. He said that it helped him concentrate." Jordan paused to rub his eyes. "He also used to say that we could never truly understand Pokemon until we try to become one. I used to think that he was crazy, but now I know what he meant." Jordan smiled at me. It was not a happy smile.  
  
"What-what happened to him?" Before I even finished my question, my heart knew what the answer was.  
  
"He was killed. An Ursaring attacked him in the forest one day. We still don't know why. Other Researchers claim that it was because he frightened the baby Teddiursa, but we know he would never do that. We couldn't find out what really happened though, because the war began shortly after..." his voice trailed off.  
  
I looked at him then for the first time, and I mean really looked. He wasn't just a human. He was a child. A child forced into the middle of all this...confusion...and couldn't get out. He was trapped in the world of hate, like I was, but in a different way.  
  
"You...you said you'd let me go after we talk," I mumbled.  
  
"Yes, I did. And I'm glad we did talk. I learned a lot from you."  
  
Jordan put me in the Pokeball again and carried me outside. There, while no one was watching, he let me out.  
  
I looked around. We were outside his house, but not the fortress that surrounded the city. Jordan opened a secret door in the fortress wall, and I saw moonlight on the grass.  
  
"It's been two days since I caught you. Hopefully all of the other wild Pokemon made it out too. You'd better go before anyone sees us."  
  
I stepped out onto the grass. The scent of green things surrounded me once again. But I couldn't help but look back at my new friend.  
  
Don't worry, we shall meet again, said a voice in my head. Startled, I looked up and saw Houdini floating above me in the sky. Slowly, he winked. A second later, he had disappeared.  
  
~Alright...~ I breathed, then broke into a run. I was free once again.  
  
  
  
[pic] 


End file.
